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(KSL News and AP reporting) A 23-year-old Farmington woman died while serving a mission in Birmingham, England for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Church officials say Lindsey Spjute collapsed while jogging Saturday.
A definite cause of death has not been determined; Spjute was thought to be in good health and ran the Ogden marathon last year. A coroner was not able to reach any conclusion about the cause of her death.
McKenna said Spjute's missionary companion, who was jogging with her, and a bystander performed CPR on her. An ambulance was called, but no one was able to revive her.
She attended BYU Idaho and Utah State University, majoring in Special Education
Richard L. McKenna, Spjute's Farmington stake president, said, "She loved to have fun, everyone around her ended up having fun. But she was a hard worker. She earned the money to go on her mission."
McKenna said he had spoken with the sister missionary's mission president, who reported that the woman was a "perfect missionary." "She was an incredible young lady," McKenna said.
Funeral arrangements are pending. But Lindsey's family has asked that in lieu of flowers, friends and family make a contribution to the missionary fund of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
(Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
